'Waste Warriors' project enters digital age for Washoe County schools

5:56 PM,
Sep. 11, 2013

Beth Isaeff, known as the Trash Lady during a decade of giving presentations to youngsters in the Washoe County School District, shows the globe she's kept since she was 13 years old. She used it to illustrate that not all things are thrown away. Guy Clifton/RGJ

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Through much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Beth Isaeff was affectionately known in Washoe County schools - and eventually the community - as "The Trash Lady."

She would visit mostly elementary classrooms to talk to youngsters about recycling, always bringing along a number of props, including a globe.

"I would load up my car with a yellow recycle bin," she said. "I had a giant bag full of things that either could or could not be recycled that I would hold up in the classroom. First, I would start off by asking the students what trash was and I would get all sorts of answers. Then, I would ask, well, ...